I overheard someone say "up something!" wherein something is a variable for... whatever.
Is this an English language idiom?
If so, in what dialect of English?
What are some examples of it's usage?
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'Up the Arsenal!' may still be heard, but it sounds dated and doesn't really work with most sports clubs (lacking the 'the'). 'Up the women!' and 'Up the workers!' were once quite common, but sound rather comedic (and possibly comical) nowadays. There were comedies utilising these expressions as titles. It's not usually heard nowadays except in lubricated registers.– Edwin AshworthCommented Jun 2, 2015 at 10:53
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6As @Edwin implies, what the something was is actually quite important. For example, there is also "Up yours!" which means soemthing quite different from "Up the workers".– Andrew Leach ♦Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 11:00
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1In the US, "up some noun" is generally taken as a variation of "up your ass", which is essentially a variation on "fuck you".– Hot LicksCommented Jun 2, 2015 at 11:54
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Up can mean to increase or raise.– a better oliverCommented Jun 2, 2015 at 12:05
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1 Answer
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3Would the downvoter care to explain? This answers all 3 of OP's questions. Yes it's an English language idiom, yes it's heard in Ireland, and here's an example of its usage - alive and well! And it quotes the source in case anyone wants to read further. So up yours.– MynamiteCommented Jun 2, 2015 at 12:08
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1Up voted. There's a similar usage recorded in (IIRC) Nigel Rees' "Graffiti Rules OK", where a graffitist had drawn up various categories (Sport, Politics, etc) and then written "Up the reds!" under each.– user11752Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 12:52
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Delightful medium. But the dye runs. (We saw multicoloured sheep on our recent trip round Ireland. I'd always wondered how they made those multicoloured cardies.) Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 15:50